Former Florence school to be transformed into senior citizen housing

When the Marcella L. Duffy School was established as Florence School No. 1 in the 1870s, the four-classroom building was the first public school in the community, a place where children read, wrote, played and grew, historians said.

But come spring 2015, the West Second Street building in Florence will host a new generation of residents, officials said.

A $14.2 million conversion of the 19th-century schoolhouse into a 53-unit affordable senior citizen housing center will begin in March, township administrators said.

“There is a need for affordable senior housing in New Jersey and specifically in Florence, and we’re happy to preserve a part of our history,” Administrator Richard Brooks said.

“People talk about the building with pride, and some takers of the apartments may have attended or even worked there.”

In the 1950s, the building was expanded to a K-8 school to accommodate the growing number of schoolchildren in the township, said Judy King, president of the Florence Township Historical Society.

After its antiquated heating, ventilation and air-conditioning systems became too expensive to operate and maintain, Florence took ownership of the property from the board of education in March 2008, and the school was closed that year, officials said.

Elementary pupils were transferred to Roebling Elementary School and middle school students were moved to Riverfront School.

The township has been working with Moorestown Ecumenical Neighborhood Development, a nonprofit that renovates, builds, owns and manages affordable rental housing throughout the state, to redevelop the site, Brooks said.

The organization has experience renovating former schoolhouses and converting them into affordable living spaces, President and CEO Matt Reilly said.

“The way old school buildings are designed makes it feasible to adapt them for apartments, because you have corridors that run through the floors and classrooms on either side,” Reilly said.

In addition, the Duffy building has qualities that will appeal to tenants, he said. “It’s an attractive building, and keeping the historic school as a permanent presence in town was enough for us.”

The school was renamed and dedicated to Marcella L. Duffy, who taught at the school for more than 40 years, after she died in 1968, King said.

“She started out as a teacher and became principal years later,” King said. “She was very influential in getting the kids educated. ”

The housing project is being funded with $12.9 million in low-income tax credits coming from the state’s Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, and the township will contribute $1 million from its municipal housing trust fund, Reilly said.

The Burlington County Community Development Office will provide an additional $300,000 in the form of a federal home loan, he said.

Five of the one-bedroom units will be set aside for clients of Catholic Charities, a
social service organization of the Diocese of Trenton, which will refer elderly clients who have trouble maintaining a home, Reilly said.

Tenants renting at the building must be at least age 62, and there will be income limits, he said.

Under the federal tax credit program, the most any one person can earn to move in is about $34,000, Reilly said.

For a two-person family, the renters cannot make more than $39,000, he said.
These figures are based on the region’s current median income levels, estimated at $57,100 for one person and $65,000 for a two-person family, Reilly said.

Median income figures are likely to change by the time the building is open next year, Reilly said.

The caps on renters’ incomes will change as a result, Reilly said.

Assistant Township Administrator Thomas Sahol, who attended the school nearly 40 years ago, said it is an extremely worthwhile project for the community.

“Mrs. Duffy was a very well-known and well-respected individual. It’s a great place and there are a lot of memories there,” Sahol said.

“Everything will be completely gutted, but we’re excited to open it up again to residents.”